


Fairy Tales

by McKat



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fairy Tales, First Kiss, Fluff, first person POV, sort of, spaceship, whouffle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 11:12:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10740549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKat/pseuds/McKat
Summary: The Doctor and Clara land on a spaceship belonging to an alien race obsessed with Earth fairy tales. The have to figure out how to make it through a tale in one piece and get back to the TARDIS.Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who





	1. Chapter 1

“Where are we?”

The Doctor pulled the screen around and looked.  “Ooh, a space ship! Big one, too!”

I smiled. “What's on it?”

He frowned. “Nothing I've ever run into. Well that's worrying… but mostly exciting.”

“Well let's do some investigating.”

He grinned. “Let’s.”

<><><><><>

 

We left the TARDIS and I looked around. “Where are we?”

The Doctor frowned and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver. I prepared for a long lecture with words I wouldn't understand because he made most of them up on the spot. Our surroundings looked like some sort of a forest, which was somewhat nad given we were in a spaceship. Granted, I'd just gotten off of a spaceship with a swimming pool, full wardrobe, and karaoke bar, so I wasn't one to talk.

“That's strange.”

I turned back to the Doctor. “What's strange?”

He walked over to a tree and pulled a twig off to inspect. He had to brace one arm against the tree and pull, it was so strong. Once it came off I stepped closer and saw that it was made of some material not much unlike plastic.

“They're not alive,” he mused. “They look alive, but they're really only here for decoration.”

“Well why would aliens want a forest if only for looks?”

He shrugged. “No idea. Let's look around some more.”

Since I didn't have a better idea, I followed him as he started walking.

A few minutes later we were out of the woods (literally) and seemed to be near a small village of sorts. But that was the least exciting thing.

“Um… Doctor?”

He didn't look up from the Sonic’s readings.

“Doctor?”

“Hm?” He still didn't look up. “There seems to be something alive around here… something -”

“Giant?” I offered.

He smiled and looked up at me finally. “Yes. How did you know?”

I pointed behind him. He turned and looked up. “Ah. I see.”

“Finally,” I muttered.

I looked up with him at the giant green tower of sorts that was so tall the top disappeared to the clouds.

“Is that a… um…”

“Beanstalk?”

I nodded. “Is it?”

He shrugged. “Not sure. It's not what’s alive.”

Even as I asked, I knew the answer. “What is?”

Before he could answer, I was cut off by a booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere. “Fe, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman!”

I turned to the Doctor. “Run?”

“Run.”

Just then the ground began to shake. We looked back up and saw the Beanstalk (because what else could it be at this point?) shaking. I turned to run the way we came but tripped on something and landed on the Doctor. He threw his arms out and caught me and we looked to see what I'd tripped on. It was an axe.

I looked up at the Doctor. “Jack’s axe, isn't it?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“There's no Jack.”

“Nope.”

“You're the closest thing to an Englishman around here.”

“Looks like it.”

“How far away do you think the Beanstalk is?”

“About thirty feet.”

“How long until the Giant gets here?”

“Two minutes tops.”

“Does that mean…?”

“That I should run over there and chop down that Beanstalk? Probably.”

He pulled away from me and grabbed the axe and then ran full speed for the Beanstalk. I followed not too far behind and kept an eye on him.

He reached the stall in record time and started chopping with a strength I'd never have guessed the lanky body possessed. The base was actually rather thin, but made of whatever material the trees were which made it strong. The Doctor, however, made short word of it. Before long, he'd sliced all the way through the base and the Beanstalk began to fall, luckily in a direction with no buildings. He sat down, exhausted and sweaty. Before I could check on him, though, I looked up and saw a huge shape falling with the stalk. It had to be twenty feet tall. I looked back at the Doctor to see he had leaned back so he was lying down. I looked back at the giant and decided it was dead. I sat beside the Doctor and brushed a bang to the side. The usually floppy hair was plastered to his head with sweat.

He opened his eyes and looked at me, eyes wide. “I killed… I just killed it.” He was out of breath.

“Hey, if you didn't, it would've killed us. You did it because you had to, okay?”

He nodded and sat up, then reached to straighten his bow tie, but it wasn’t there. He pat between his collarbones a few times before looking down. I hadn’t noticed when it happened, but he was wearing loose clothing made of a thick fabric. It looked kind of like a commoner’s outfit from the Dark Ages. Well, what I remember from them.

The Doctor frowned, confused. “Clara, I _was_ wearing a different outfit earlier, right?”

“Right.”

“Just making sure. Do you remember me changing?”

I shook my head. “No, don’t you?”

He shook his head and looked up at me. “This… This is really weird.”

I nodded.

He sighed. “Well, let's go inspect it.”

I helped him to his feet and we walked to where the large form lay.

“Doctor?”

“Yes, Clara?”

“If there's no Jack... then why did the giant come down? In the story he came because Jack stole something. Either a goose that lay golden eggs or a magic harp. Either way… why?”

The Doctor frowned. “I don't know. And I really don't like not knowing.”

We got closer and I went slack-jawed. My original conclusion seemed correct, the giant was about four times my height. I got closer to his huge face. “Doctor? Does it look familiar to you?”

He frowned. “It does looks like a Mars Ice Warrior. But they're never this large.”

I nodded and looked at it. “Wait… it isn't wearing its armor. Didn't you say that that's some form of dishonor?”

“It is. They'd never wear this.”

The Ice Warrior was wearing clothing similar clothing to the Doctor, except obviously much much larger.

“This is strange,” he mused. Before we could do anymore inspecting, the Ice Warrior began to… _glow_?

“Doctor?”

“I see it. Um… let’s move back. A lot.”

I nodded and we turned and ran up a small hill. One we were at the top I turned back. The Ice Warrior was shining so bright I couldn't look at him directly. Once it got to the point I couldn't look at him at all, he was suddenly gone. The only sign he’d ever been there was an impression in the grass. I turned to the Doctor. He raised a hand to scratch his head.

“Doctor!”

“What?”

I reached over and took the axe from his hand. “You still have it. You were about to chop your head off.”

He frowned. “I put it down.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “This gets stranger and stranger…”

I nodded. “Well there's nothing else around here, we can investigate the forest.”

He nodded and I handed the axe back. He took it reluctantly and we turned for the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor and I walked through the forest, he was still wearing his new outfit. It was strange, really. The first time I’d seen him he was in a somewhat similar outfit, but that wasn’t for very long. So seeing him in anything other than his usual ridiculous get-up was… strange.  _ Just like the rest of this, _ I thought.

We walked silently for a little while before he held his hand up (luckily the one that didn’t have the axe) to stop me.

I stood still. “What is it,” I whispered.

“Listen.”

I nodded and listened closely. 

Nothing.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps. Loud. And they didn’t sound human. 

I turned to where they were coming from and saw a flash of red. I looked closer and saw a small girl. Behind her…

“Doctor! We have to help her!”

“What? How?”

I looked at him and gestured to the axe in his hand.

He looked at it and then back at the figures coming. “Oh!”

We started running towards them. I took the little girl’s hand and we ran. I looked back and saw the Doctor holding the axe and swinging it. I turned back to her before I could see what happened.

I stopped the little girl in a clearing and we sat down. The Doctor walked in a little later, not holding the axe. There was a blood splatter on his shirt. I turned to the girl and fell back. She had changed into a small red creature.

The Doctor backed up. “Zygon,” he explained to me.

I turned back to her just in time to see that she’d been glowing. I stood and backed up toward the Doctor, shielding my eyes.

In a second, the light was gone, and so was the Zygon. I looked back at the Doctor. “Little Red Riding Hood?”

He nodded. 

“But in the original story, the wolf ate her and the grandmother and the woodsman cut them out. 

He looked at me, disgusted. “Really? You tell this stuff to children?”

“Well the originals were to teach lessons. But for the most part we’ve changed them around for kids.”

He shook off his disgust. “And whatever species is on this ship has learned the different versions.”

I nodded. “Yeah, looks it. You’ve played the part of Jack and of the woodsman so far.”

He looked back towards where he’d come from. “The wolf was another Ice Warrior. It wasn’t wearing its armor, either. So it should’ve caught up with the Zygon. But it didn’t.” 

“Because it wasn’t supposed to.”

He nodded. “Just like how the Ice Warrior Giant could’ve made it down the beanstalk before I chopped it down. And the Zygon didn’t just change its appearance and become a rabbit or something.”

“Well then why did they all disappear? I mean at first I thought it was just when they died. But then the Zygon disappeared, and it was alive.”

He thought. “Its role was done. Just like the Ice Warriors.”

“Then why are you still here?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “They must have other plans for me.”

“What does that mean?”

He sighed. “I’m going to have another role. Soon, probably.”

“So I guess we just keep walking until we end up in another story.”

“I don’t like it, but it seems to be the only option.”

“Unless we can find the TARDIS?” I offered. 

“This is where it's supposed to be.”

“...oh. Walking around it is, then.”

“Walking around it is.”

<><><><><>

We did walk a little while before I stopped and stared, open-mouthed. 

“Doctor? Do you see that?”

“Giant castle? Yes.”

“Just… Just making sure.”

“Um, Clara?”

“Yes?”

“Look at yourself.”

I gave him a confused glance before looking down at my outfit. What was previously a blouse and a pair of pants was now a gown. I reached up and felt that my hair was curled into ringlets that went down my back and there was something on my head. I carefully removed it to look. It was a golden circlet.

“Doctor… I think… I think I’m a princess.”

He nodded slowly. “It… it looks like it.”

“This can’t be good.”

“No, probably not. Come on, let’s go look in here. See which princess you’re supposed to be.”

I started to walk but lost my balance. The Doctor caught me and I lifted my skirt to see I was wearing thin heels. They weren’t glass, though. “Looks like I’m not Cinderella.”

“I guess that’s good.”

I thought for a minute. Just about every other princess story I could think of involved true love’s kiss. My face heated up as I realized what that would mean. Either I would have to be kissed by some strange alien… or by the Doctor. I wasn’t sure which would be worse. 

“Clara? Are you okay?”

I looked up and realized I was still against his chest and his arms were around my waist. I pulled back quickly. “Yes. Fine. Slightly embarrassed.”

“Don’t be, heels are hard to walk in.”

I was going to ask before deciding better of it. After I regained my balance we went into the castle. It was quite large and completely stone. The door we walked into led to what appeared to be an empty ballroom. The Doctor took my hand and led me through some hallways, but everywhere we went was empty. We walked for a few minutes before I felt his grip on my hand tighten. Looking up at him, I could tell he was nervous.

“Doctor? Are you okay?”

“Yes. Yes. Fine. Why?”

“Because you’re squeezing my hand.”

“Oh. Sorry.” He loosened his grip.

“What’re you thinking about?”

He ran his other hand through his hair. “No people. That’s never a good sign.”

“They probably just didn’t get enough actors.”

He nodded. “You’re right. So which story do you think this is?”

“There’s no telling. Probably not Snow White. Definitely not Cinderella.”

“Okay. I can’t think of any but I can never keep all the stories straight from the worlds they come from.”

“Alright.” 

I was cut off by a scream.

“Doctor, did you hear that?”

“Yes.”

“Run! I can’t in this dress, I’ll catch you later. Go!”

I could see him debating with himself as he looked back and forth between me and where the sound came from. “Are you sure, Clara?”

“Yes I’m sure. Go!”

He nodded and squeezed my hand before running off. I followed as fast I could. Which really wasn’t very fast. 

I stopped to lean against the wall and catch my breath. The corset I was wearing made it very hard to breathe as I ran. As I stood back up, I saw a small blue grow.  _ Will-’o-the-Wisp _ ? I thought. Well, no harm in getting a closer look. 

I walked towards it and saw it was a small blue orb. Tentatively, I reached out to touch it. Before I could, it slowly moved back. Against my better judgement, I followed it. It didn’t move fast, so I was able to keep up with it easily. After a while we were in a room with a spinning wheel.

_ Oh. Oh no. _

I tried to leave, but I couldn’t. It was as though my brain was taking a back seat to my body. I couldn’t do anything except step forward and put my hand out to touch the spindle.

_ No no no no. Doctor!  _

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t do anything. I watched in horror as I touched the spindle. And everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

I was awake. That was what I felt first. Shortly after, I was aware of a pressure on my lips. I opened my eyes and saw the Doctor’s eyes, closed. I realized he was kissing me. And that was what woke me up. I was then aware that I was lying on the ground, but my head was resting in his lap, with his long fingers tangling in my curls. 

He pulled back after a second and looked at me. “Clara! You’re okay!”

I nodded and held my head in my hands. “Splitting headache, but aside from that I’m okay.”

Before I could say anything else, he had pulled me to his chest in a tight hug.

“Doctor… corset… can’t breathe…”

“Right! Sorry.” He pulled back and put his hands on my shoulders. “You’re okay.”

I nodded. “You…” I trailed off as I looked at his newest outfit. He was dressed like… “You’re the prince.”

“And you’re sleeping beauty.”

My cheeks grew warm. “I guess. So the prince… you… kissed the princess… me… and it woke me up?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“It’s just… um… the story said it had to be true love’s kiss. So since it worked that means…”

“That I love you? I guess it does.”

I nodded. “And that I love you, too. Wait… what was that scream from earlier?”

“The witch. It was a carrionite. Fitting, I suppose. Anyways, she screamed to try and distract me and separate us so that you could be cursed.”

“That wasn’t in the story.”

He shrugged. “It had to go off script to make sure the main plot stayed in tact.”

“That makes sense. So we should be going away soon?”

Before he could answer, I felt a warmth in my chest. Looking down, I saw that I was glowing, just like the Ice Warriors and the Zygon. I looked over at the Doctor and saw that he was glowing, as well. 

<><><><><>

The next thing I knew I was sitting with the Doctor in a strange room. I looked down and saw I wasn't wearing the dress anymore and the Doctor was back in his tweed jacket and bow tie. I pulled up to stand and looked around. "Where are we?"

"I suppose this is where everyone went when their story was over. Maybe we can get some answers."

He walked over to a computer screen and pointed the sonic at it. After a moment it started up and started showing some alien language. "Found anything?"

He read for a little while. "This ship is owned by the Fabula. Never seen them before. But they go around and, for lack of a better word,  _zap_ up different species from ships to fill roles. That's why they had a couple Ice Warriors. Looks like they originally had more."

He pressed a few buttons and suddenly the screen was showing the woods, the castle, the village, and different places we hadn't even seen. "Cameras?"

He nodded. "They were watching us. This is a form of entertainment for them."

"So where are they?"

"Oh, a viewing room."

"Are we going to go... you know... tell them off or something?"

"No. Why would we?"

I was quite confused now. "Because... they kidnap people and kill them?"

He laughed and pat my shoulder. "Oh, no. The creatures I killed didn't actually die. And after their role they're always returned to their ship. Can we really blame them for a bit of fun?"

I shrugged. "It was pretty fun, wasn't it?"

He smiled. "Yes, it was."

"Well where's the TARDIS?"

He looked around and stepped over to a door. He opened it, revealing the TARDIS. "Right here. Are you ready to go?"

"I think so."

He opened the door for me. "After you, milady."

I curtsied and stepped in. He followed close behind and went over to the console. 

“Clara… if you… want to forget that happened…”

“Forget what?”

“You know, how I woke you up.”

I looked up and saw his face was pink. It was actually quite cute. “If I do?”

“Then that’s - that’s fine.”

“Do you want to forget?”

“That’s irrelevant.”

I rolled my eyes and stood on my toes to kiss his cheek. “I don’t want to.”

“Right. Good.” He’d moved his hand up to touch where I’d kissed, his face even brighter.

I laughed. “Good?”

“Well… um… I suppose it is…”

“Doctor?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.” I cut whatever he was going to say off with another kiss, to his mouth this time.

He kissed back after a minute, his hands awkwardly sitting on my waist. I pulled back a little to look up at him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, yes… I just… It’s been a while.”

I smiled. “Me, too. It’s okay.” I put my hands over his and pressed them to my waist. “We can figure it out.”

“That… that sounds good.”

I moved my hands up to his hair. “Oh you clever boy.”

He laughed at that. “My impossible girl.”

“Why do you call me that, anyways?”

“You’ll probably figure out soon. It doesn’t matter.”

“Okay.” I pulled his head down to kiss his forehead. “Now, where are we going to go now?”

“Where do you want to go?”

“How about home for now? I’m pretty exhausted still.”

He nodded and pulled away to start the TARDIS. 

When it landed I started for the door. “See you Wednesday?”

“Wednesday,” he agreed.

I put my hand on the door, but stopped to run back and kiss him quickly. I pulled back before he could react and ran out.

I didn’t have to look to know he was leaning back against the console, hand lightly against his lips, smiling widely. 

My Doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment any thoughts.
> 
> I can be reached on tumblr at angelstatueinatanjacket


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